As noon approached, a large number of guests arrived.

Because of the snow, the table was placed inside the house, and there was heating, so it wasn't too cold.

"Hey, Chu Fang, come quick! What's the point of just sitting in the kitchen?" Zhong Ping shouted. "That's women's work."

At that moment, Chu Fang was cooking in the kitchen when Gao Ruoyun glared at her husband: "Without us, would you even be able to eat?"

He then said to Chu Fang, "Little Chu, you go ahead. Leave the rest to us."

He nodded in agreement.

He immediately washed his hands and went into the house. Zhong Ping beckoned him to the central table, where most of the people seated were middle-aged men, all pillars of their respective families: Zhong Tingyue's grandfather, maternal grandfather, uncle...

"Sit down," Zhong Ping invited him.

Chu Fang sat down next to his father-in-law. Then Zhong Ping went into the house and soon came out with several beautifully packaged bottles of fine wine, showing them to everyone present. His older brother, in particular, pointed to the large label a few times and said, "You're in luck, 'Maozi'! It's really expensive."

The uncle watched coldly: "Did you buy it?"

Zhong Ping was honest and generous: "No, Xiao Chu bought it."

"It's not like you earned the money to buy it, so why are you pretending in front of me?"

“Just pretend! Is that wrong? Is it a crime? Is it illegal?” Zhong Ping retorted, speaking with an air of righteous indignation.

Just pull, pull hard!

Zhong Ping was unrestrained and eccentric throughout his life, and because of this, he was often scolded by his older brother.

Because his uncle was successful in his career, he often lectured Zhong Ping based on money values, while the latter, having achieved nothing, could only helplessly listen to his brother's lectures without being able to refute them.

Finally, her daughter opened her own studio, and her son-in-law is a wealthy man. Both of them are successful people, and she benefited from their success.

Zhong Ping suddenly stood up!

His bent back straightened, becoming straighter than the lower body of someone eighteen years younger.

She never dared to speak to her brother before, but today she dared to provoke him.

Of course, Uncle Zhong Tingyue was not the kind of relative who would only suppress his brother. On the contrary, he took good care of his younger brother and once asked someone to find him a management job. The job was high-paying, easy, and close to home. However, Zhong Ping was very dissolute and lost the job by playing cards with others.

Zhong Tingyue's uncle was so angry that he gritted his teeth and went on to look for many more jobs, but he left them all because he couldn't stand the hard work.

Compared to a formal job, Zhong Ping prefers farming. He rides a tractor, clattering through the fields, and stands on top of the tractor, urinating into the sky, drawing an arc.

Uncle Zhong Tingyue watched as his foolish younger brother poured wine for everyone. He was the last one. Zhong Ping slapped his forehead and said, "Ah, I remember now, you seem to have given up drinking, so I won't pour you any wine."

Uncle Zhong Tingyue said unhurriedly, "Don't you know whether I've quit or not? There are a lot of people here, don't blame me for being ruthless later."

Zhong Ping chuckled, then poured wine for his brother. He picked up his glass and said, "Thank you all for coming, except for my brother, who came by himself. I'll drink to that first."

After saying that, Zhong Ping downed his drink in one gulp, and everyone else in the room followed suit, smacking their lips.

"This 'Maozi' tastes amazing, just like drinking fine wine."

Zhong Ping raised an eyebrow: "That's right! This one glass of wine costs several hundred yuan, you should be secretly happy."

One of the relatives hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm not drinking anymore. You can give me the bottle in cash. I can only drink about two jin (1 kg) of liquor. I'll take the loss. You can give me 60,000 yuan in cash. Of course, I know you can't come up with that much money."

"Hmm... ...for the sake of our brotherhood, let's write an IOU. You owe me 60,000."

Zhong Ping's lips trembled.

Hey... you even took some food and some cash, didn't you?

Is this something a human being could say?

Zhong Ping was determined to have a big fight with his relatives, and the argument continued throughout the banquet. Zhong Tingyue's uncle sighed and said to Chu Fang, "Your uncle is cheerful and likes lively gatherings, but he's not a bad person. Don't take it to heart."

He was afraid that his younger brother's dissolute manner would scare Chu Fang away.

“Uncle is a man of true character,” Chu Fang replied with a smile.

This is the truth, not a pretense.

Because Chu Fang is a cheerful person who likes lively gatherings, his favorite thing to do is tease Zhong Tingyue. In essence, he is not much different from Zhong Ping, so he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it.

Uncle Zhong Tingyue secretly sized up Chu Fang, her nephew-in-law, and nodded in satisfaction.

From an appearance standpoint, he is impeccable, and most importantly, he exudes an extraordinary aura.

He was a businessman and had met many wealthy people, all with tens of millions in assets, but few had the temperament of his nephew-in-law.

Moreover, he had just inquired and found out that his foolish younger brother was not exaggerating; this nephew-in-law was worth at least hundreds of millions, which made him secretly alarmed.

Young people these days are amazing!

The two chatted idly, talking about everything under the sun. At the table, Zhong Ping and the other guests finally noticed Chu Fang, the center of today's banquet. Then, a group of relatives toasted Chu Fang one by one, and the latter accepted every toast. As long as there was wine, he would drink it.

Chu Fang had a high alcohol tolerance, but unfortunately he was outnumbered and eventually got quite drunk. When Zhong Tingyue saw that Chu Fang's face was flushed, she quickly found an excuse to take him away.

The two left home and walked along the path. Snowflakes were falling from the sky, and everything in sight was white.

"Don't drink so much." Zhong Tingyue frowned slightly and buttoned up Chu Fang's clothes.

"I'm happy." Chu Fang didn't seem to care.

"What's so fun about drinking? We should make our own decisions, so why should we give in to them too much?"

Zhong Tingyue knew that Chu Fang wasn't actually addicted to alcohol; he would only drink a few glasses when the atmosphere was right, and even then, it was very little. Today, however, he drank every toast offered by the elders, regardless of who it was. This behavior was entirely to accommodate the elders and make them happy as well.

But the ultimate goal was still because of her, Zhong Tingyue.

"Hey!" Chu Fang waved his hand. "It's the same whether you're at my house or not."

In the Chu family, Zhong Tingyue also had to act like a warm and cheerful daughter-in-law, even though she really didn't like talking to strangers and was too lazy to even speak.

When two people are together, they always need to compromise and find a suitable balance.

This balance is crucial. Some relationships involve money, some involve emotions, some involve responsibility, and some involve purely physical needs. Only by finding the right balance can couples stay together for a long time.

Unfortunately, some couples want a long and lasting relationship, but others can't even meet the most basic requirement of longevity, and ultimately they have no choice but to separate.

... ...

As night fell, the weather outside seemed even colder, a stark contrast to the lively scene inside.

Since most people in the Central Plains stay at home during the winter and have nothing to do, Gao Ruoyun held two banquets, one at noon and one in the evening.

During the evening banquet, Zhong Tingyue reminded the elders, "Chu Fang can't hold his liquor, so don't force him to drink."

Many elders nodded in agreement.

But as soon as Zhong Tingyue left, the elders immediately forgot her words and started desperately trying to get Chu Fang drunk. He accepted everything without hesitation, as he had no intention of leaving the house alive.

Tonight, I'm going to show these old fogies what it means for the new generation to surpass the old, and for the old generation to be swept away on the beach... ...Chu Fang, this new generation, was successfully swept away on the beach by the old generation.